The meltdown of Rupert Murdoch's British media empire isn't the only big media story out of the UK.

Media-watchers are keeping a close eye on Northern & Shell, the TV and publishing company that owns magazines (OK! and New!), newspapers the Daily Star and Daily Express, and Channel 5 in the UK. It is estimated that its total media reach is 39 million people each month, the Independentreports, making it Britain’s third-largest media company in terms of revenue.

That bottom line may grow further, thanks to the UK's recent introduction of product placement within TV programming — and the fortuitous return of controversial reality series Big Brother to British TV, thanks to a two-year deal with Channel 5 and the (supposedly) defunct series' producers.Continue reading...